How to Possibly Make Trackable Footprints

[simplywayne90]

This is just a random thought,

This may be utterly impossible (like moving vehicals) but I'm posting it in the off-chance it's not.

I'm not a modder in any way at all. I'm an idea person,

I leave it to modders to chose whether or not to create what I think of.

 

Firstly,

 

----------------------------How the Footprints Could Be Modeled----------------------------

 

Using a software like Blender or Studio Max,

Load up the creature/human your making a footprint for.

Then edit them to just feet (Or whatever they move on),

Now I've not tried this but I can imagine that the "Ankle/Leg" (Top of the foot) area is hollow/see-thru

To fix that I'd suggest flipping the feet upside down to where your looking at the bottoms.

Now you have a left and right footprint.

 

***Note: From guessing I'd say the left-side foot would become the right-side footprint, and vis versa.

 

 

----------------------------How They Could Appear In-Game----------------------------

 

Now I know nothing of the G.E.C.K, so I'm skipping the part of making each footprint a seperate object.

 

Anyways, Continuing along.

 

Assuming its a static object in game now.

 

I'd suggest a series of scripts or a singular extended script

 

A Script that tells the game if the PC is within a reasonable distance (So that populated cells arn't covered in footprints, and thus also affect game-speed and clutter)

 

A Script that that identifies what terrian type the trackable creature is walking on (So you don't have footprints in solid roads/concrete/inside)

 

A Script based on PC Survival skill that either decreases that amount of footprints left behind or increases (So a Survival skill of 20 makes it very hard to find footprints and track/sneak up on enemies, While with a Survival skill of 100 you can follow them very easily and sneak up on them.)

 

A Script that identifies footprints to the correct creatures. (So a centaur won't leave power armor footprints.)

 

A Script to make the footprints fade over time (Maybe similar to what happens to gun shells)

 

Optional: A Script that makes only naturally hostile enemies leave footprints (so you only can track things that would normally attack you first)

 

----------------------------Examples Of Possible Footprints----------------------------

 

A Glowing footprint for Glowing Ones and Troopers.

 

Dragging marks for centaurs.

 

Sludge Spots for Ghouls And Ferals

 

Large bare feet with cracks for Super mutants.

 

Boot Prints for NCR Military/Legion

 

Shoe prints for normal humans/Raiders (bloody prints)

 

Large shoe like prints with cracks for Power Armored Troops/Brotherhood

Edited December 7, 2010 by simplywayne90

[TallgeeseIV]

Ohhh, brilliant idea wayne. I think i know of a better way to place them in game too. there isn't really a script function to identify terrain, buuut... what you could do, is set it so, while you have a perk, or high enough survival, whatever it is. it runs a script on every npc/creature in the cell with you. that script would place an explosion every few seconds, only while the npc/creature is moving. the explosion would be invisible, no damage, no force, nothing, and have a customized impactset, depending on the type of creature or npc. then, instead of explosions creating a scorch mark on the ground, you replace it with a texture of the footprints of a left foot and right foot slightly in front, or vice versa, doesn't matter. impactsets do get to change decals based on the terrain they hit, you just make the explosion do nothing unless you're on dirt (which includes grass and sand in-game)

 

what do you think? anyone feel like doing this? i'm working on a vehicle, haha, i don't believe they're impossible, every version i've seen was half-completed, and i have a working beta right now that's buggy, but interesting...

Edited December 7, 2010 by TallgeeseIV

[simplywayne90]

The vehical is very ambitious, and I'm glad you think this footprint idea is possible, on one of my other forums I got rather rude messages saying (You don't know how to mod, how could anything you come up with work) or (The game engine can't handle that)

 

I of course say before any thread that involves mod making that I'm not a modder, but I do have an idea of how all those programs work so I told them =P

 

If you need resources for your vehical TallGeese I have about 4-5 links to vehical mods from Fallout 3, they don't move but are static objects.

 

(Also if you haven't already thought of it, a somewhat cheap way to imitate wheels turning could possibly be accomplished by either doing what the developers did with the fan on the back of remnant armor "Which is turning the texture over and over" )

 

or somehow highjack the wheel off the secruitrons and use that somehow.

Edited December 7, 2010 by simplywayne90

[TallgeeseIV]

The vehical is very ambitious, and I'm glad you think this footprint idea is possible, on one of my other forums I got rather rude messages saying (You don't know how to mod, how could anything you come up with work) or (The game engine can't handle that)

 

I of course say before any thread that involves mod making that I'm not a modder, but I do have an idea of how all those programs work so I told them =P

 

If you need resources for your vehical TallGeese I have about 4-5 links to vehical mods from Fallout 3, they don't move but are static objects.

 

(Also if you haven't already thought of it, a somewhat cheap way to imitate wheels turning could possibly be accomplished by either doing what the developers did with the fan on the back of remnant armor "Which is turning the texture over and over" )

 

or somehow highjack the wheel off the secruitrons and use that somehow.

 

Ah, thanks for the support, I can't believe they treated you that way. as far as i'm concerned, almost anything can be done, just gotta think outside the box. and i know what you mean about the spinning texture on the remnant's armor. it's called a texture transform controller in nifskope and i haven't gotten them to work on my own models yet, haha, but i did think of that possibility.

 

so far, i have a ride-able sentrybot that turns with your camera and moves forward or backward when you press W or S. i also have a plan in the works for an airship.

[simplywayne90]

How about a script that places just the decal of two prints at the location and heading of the entity making the prints; and does this every time it moves. These decals would fade with time, but be track-able by sight.

 

***About the vehicles; I had a lot of fun making this... [its still a work in progress.]

Edited February 10, 2011 by simplywayne90

[simplywayne90]

The Sprint Mod uses no-damage invisible explosions to jiggle the cam a bit while sprinting. I Didn't know about them until I went into water for the 1st time after installing it and heard:

BOOM!, whoosh, BOOM!, whoosh, BOOM!, whoosh. I was like "who the hell is shooting at me? I don't see anyone!!" lol.

 

For some reason, even though the explosion do no damage, they still make auto-water react at though an explosion is going off (sends water flying like a cherry bomb in a pond).

 

Just a little thing you might want to keep in mind if this ever materializes ;)

[simplywayne90]

Thank you for that, good advice so as to not freak out later if someone ever tells me they are going to make it, I actually won't be doing it, since I can't plus my pc probably couldn't handle it anyways, but for some reason one day I was like, hmmm I know how to make footprints in Fallout kinda.

 

But I'd be happy to see it, since it'd definitly add to the game, it'd also be interesting since you could then add tracking quests or hunting quests somewhat like Red Dead Redemption.

 

----------------New Idea For Vehical Tracks and Improvements....Possibly------------------

 

Just now as I was typing this, I realized this could also improve vehical mods, one of the problems I have with a lot of vehical mods is that from a moving train to a tank, they don't ever seem to leave any dust or tracks or even budge anything on the ground, they float and it looks bad.

 

Perhaps with a few tweaks, you could create some vehical tracks, or little explosions or little dust kick-ups behind them so it looks like they actually are effecting the ground their riding on.

[simplywayne90]

As an update somewhat, It seems that recently (or today) Sagittarius22 (Creator of the awesome Reactive People mods) uploaded a mod with a similar idea of tracking enemies if any readers are still interested in ideas like the ones in this thread.

 

Sagittarius' mod involves tracking blood from wounded enemies instead of footprints.

 

Here is the link:

 

Sagittarius22 "There Will Be Blood" Mod

[sagittarius22]

As an update somewhat, It seems that recently (or today) Sagittarius22 (Creator of the awesome Reactive People mods) uploaded a mod with a similar idea of tracking enemies if any readers are still interested in ideas like the ones in this thread.

 

Sagittarius' mod involves tracking blood from wounded enemies instead of footprints.

 

Here is the link:

 

Sagittarius22 "There Will Be Blood" Mod

 

Hey I am glad you've put a link to my mod, I could try to help you here...

[sagittarius22]

http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=41646